The present disclosure relates to a toner container and an image forming apparatus including the toner container.
An image forming apparatus such as a copy machine or a laser printer includes a toner container mounted on an apparatus body thereof. In general, such a toner container includes a casing that contains toner, a toner outlet formed in the casing, and a shutter mechanism for opening and closing the toner outlet. The toner container includes a lever for causing the shutter mechanism to operate.
In the image forming apparatus of this type, depending on the specification of image quality, the destination, the color of image, or the like, different types of toners are used. Therefore, usually, for the image forming apparatus, applicable toners are specified.
When a user uses a not-specified toner in the image forming apparatus by mistake, there is a risk of causing malfunction of the image forming apparatus, a poor printed image, and the like. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate compatibility of toner containers each containing toner with a plurality of models of the image forming apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a toner container having an incompatibility function).
It is known to form, in each toner container, a model identification projection whose shape and position are different for each model of the image forming apparatus, and at the same time, to form, in the apparatus body to which the toner container is mounted, a recess to be engaged with the above projection.
However, in general, the above projection is formed from a resin material, similarly to the body of the toner container. Thus, the projection can be easily cut out with a knife or the like. As a result, the toner container from which the projection has been cut out becomes able to be mounted to an image forming apparatus to which the toner container should not have been able to be properly mounted.
In contrast, there is also known a toner container having a projecting step portion formed on an upper portion thereof, the step portion extending along an insertion direction of the toner container into the apparatus body. Inside the step portion of this toner container, a void is provided which communicates with the interior of the toner container. Thus, the toner container is configured such that when the step portion is cut out, toner inside the toner container leaks, thereby to prevent the step portion from being cut out.